Software Engineer C++ (Services & Support team)

Thales Nederland is a top provider of high-tech jobs, active in the Aerospace, Defense, and Security sectors. We design extremely modern radar systems and optical sensors that form part of complete, integrated defense systems. Within this sensor processing group the complete radar software is developed. This includes various fields including the control of radar systems, the organization of radar transmissions and the processing of the digital information flow. The ultimate goal is to detect and classify specific objects, such as aircraft and drones, track them and display them on an operator console.

The Team: Services & Support

The newly formed Services & Support (S&S) team operates as the dedicated custodians for our mature and legacy product lines. We anticipate the needs of our customers and internal teams, provide operational support, and own the resolution of software issues. Our mission is to ensure that legacy radar software remains buildable, testable, and stable, preventing technical debt from becoming an operational blocker.

The Role

We are not looking for a standard developer; we are looking for a C++ Engineer with a strong DevOps mindset and a passion for technical archaeology.

In this role, you will be the critical first line of defense for both customer-reported issues and internal engineering requests regarding our mature radar software. You will be responsible for tracking down older source code, untangling legacy setups, and modernizing build pipelines (such as migrating outdated systems to Bazel) to ensure they integrate with modern CI/CD standards.

When issues arise, you will analyze the problem, implement fixes where possible, and successfully build and deploy new releases. For deeply complex architectural issues, you will act as the technical liaison, tracking down the right domain experts across Thales to collaboratively solve the problem before handling the final release build.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for software-related issues on mature radar systems, directly analyzing and triaging customer and internal team reports.
• Resurrect and maintain legacy source code, ensuring it remains accessible, compilable, and testable on current hardware and simulation systems.
• Modernize outdated build environments and processes, actively upgrading legacy systems to modern tooling (e.g., migrating from Maven to Bazel, integrating with GitLab CI/CD).
• Own the issue-resolution lifecycle: fix code directly when possible, or partner with deep-domain experts across the organization to ensure a solution is developed.
• Manage the successful compilation, testing, and release building of updated software packages for customers.
• Investigate and map out undocumented legacy systems, acting as a technical detective to recover knowledge that may have left the active engineering teams.

About You

We are looking for an engineer who genuinely enjoys the challenge of figuring out how complex, older systems work and making them run smoothly again. You should have:

• Strong, proven experience (5+ years) in C/C++ software engineering within a Linux environment.
• A profound interest in DevOps methodologies, build systems, and continuous integration tooling.
• Experience with build automation and configuration tools (e.g., CMake, Bazel, Maven, Make).
• A relentless, investigative mindset; you find it highly rewarding to fix broken builds, resolve dependency hell, and modernize legacy infrastructure.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to bridge the gap between customer support, S&S, and specialized internal engineering teams.
• The courage to investigate and implement new ways of working and modern technologies within older codebases. 
• HBO or WO diploma in the field of (technical) informatics or computer science.
• Due to the nature of the work we require the possession of a Dutch passport.

What We Offer

An interesting job in a high-tech environment at our Hengelo campus.

• Salary based on Pay Scale 60 in accordance with the Metalektro-HP collective labor agreement.
• 27 vacation days and 13 'ADV' days (reduced working hours) based on full-time employment; you can sell or purchase additional ADV days if desired.
• Holiday allowance (8%); a fixed year-end bonus (2%); a variable profit-sharing bonus and expense allowances for working from home.
• A mobility policy offering travel expense reimbursement and/or the use of an NS Business Card.
• Pension accrual through our own pension fund; Thales contributes 60%.
• The opportunity to personalize your employment conditions by exchanging certain salary components for other perks, such as gym memberships, a bicycle plan, union fees, etc.
• Eligibility for a group discount on health insurance through one of our partners.
• A challenging position within our high-tech, innovative work environment, with room for personal initiative and good ideas.
• Ample opportunities for personal and professional growth within the organization—for example, in technical, commercial, or international areas.
• Valuable international collaboration with colleagues from 68 different countries worldwide.
• A pleasant workplace in a modern setting, with a focus on flexibility and a good work-life balance.

Curious about our technology?

Want to see what our software ultimately becomes a part of? The Dutch TV program ''Het Klokhuis'' filmed an episode with us explaining how radar works and how our technology is applied. Watch it here: https://hetklokhuis.nl/tv-uitzending/5579/radar (please note, it is in Dutch).

Additionally, Luke—one of our C++ Software Engineers—talks about his work within our radar domain. He works on one of the software building blocks that eventually come together to form the complete radar system. See: http://www.linkedin.com/posts/this-is-luke-one-of-our-c-software-engineers-ugcPost-7402013282791833600-18Ys/

Interested?

Do you have extensive experience as a Software Engineer or Software Integrator, and do you find yourself energized by understanding how the entire software system of a radar fits together? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Even if Hengelo isn't exactly around the corner for you, we’d still be happy to discuss the possibilities, for example providing support regarding relocation.